Tell me what got you into the hobby

[BF McUmber]

I called my co-worker a goldfish because of his lack of memory. That turned into it would be neat to have a fish tank for the office and work was very frustrating at the time. 

[Bullsnark]

My fiancé got a beta at random after a new pet store came to her hometown. After watching a few videos and seeing people’s tanks and fish I was hooked (pun intended). 
I was a plumber for years and I wanted to do aqua escaping for peoples homes, but I ended up getting injured before I could start my own company. I wanted to install water features on a larger scale, but this is probably the next best thing. We started with 13 gallon tank, now we have a 20, two 10s, a 40, and a 55. 

[eatyourpeas]

Mmmm, wasn't planning on it. After scuba diving since I was 18, I always thought the fish lived "there" and I could just go see them in the ocean. When I broke my body badly enough that I could not dive anymore, well, it never occurred to me that I could have a little window into their world inside my house, until about a year and a half ago. A most wonderful thing, for sure!

They teach me something every day, still! 🙃

[Jimfish98]

Two things got me in. Didn't have pets as a kid and moved away from home for college and the only pets they would allow were pets that could be contained in a 10g tank or less. It was my limitation but I really enjoyed it. Stuck with 10g until I bought the house and jumped to 50, then 75, and now 130g. My only real limitation now is my wife lol.

The other thing that got me in was not about tanks, but koi ponds. When we had our last kid I wanted a tattoo that was representative of the family. Last name is Fisher so fish worked and opted for Koi. Out on the road for work and stopped by a pond shop to see some up front before the tattoo and I sat there for a half hour watching the fish in the pond. Every bit of stress was gone and that is big for me as stress gets my MS going. I had that visit in November, tattoo in December, and started building my pond that springs. 2000g, self cleaning, and pure joy for a decade. Shut it down last fall as my heart is not doing well and couldn't put the energy in it anymore. Shell is there, will start it up some day down the road. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Well by trade I should probably be into aquarium keeping 😋

 

But I suppose I actually got my start into not only aquarium but what would ultimately be my career through frogs and salamanders and newts. It seems inevitable that I would get into fish after that, but what I didn't realize at the time was it was going to completely change my life. 

 

I absolutely enjoy this thread though!

[Crabby]

I’ve got 3 main reasons, although one is definitely the big one. Firstly, to really start from the start, my mum has told me that she was watching fish swimming on TV when she was going through labour, as a way to stay calm. I don’t know if that had an impact or not, but it’s a pretty funny coincidence.

When I was growing up, my parents had a goldfish tank, and looking back on it, I can see why all but one died… it was probably 15 gallons, with at least 6 medium sized goldfish, and I can’t remember anyone ever doing anything with it besides feeding the fish. Slowly they passed away, always when we were on holiday, and we never saw bodies. Maybe they were eating the dead ones? I know most fish will do that but I’m not sure about goldies. Anyway, eventually we had one left. He was white with a red spot on his forehead, and he was pretty huge. He had a name, I’m sure, but I can’t remember. My parents thought he had eaten all the other fish, so they didn’t want to get any more, and we ended up taking him to a pond in the hills beside our house and letting him go. I’m sure he had a jolly old time, because that pond would have been perfect for a hungry fellow like him.

To be honest, it’s odd that my parents didn’t do to well with the goldfish, cuz they managed to keep seahorses for a few years before I was born. 

The thing that really tipped me over was going on a camping trip a few years ago. I found these adorable little ‘red handed shrimp’ in an estuary, and they were so courageous, nibbling at my fingers and toes. I was totally hooked. I spent a few months researching, then got my first planted tank, and it went from there. Now I have 5 tanks and a pond with 4 goldfish, and some day I’m going to go and collect some red handed shrimp for a 10 gallon shrimp-only tank. That’s probably my dream tank, to be honest. Although if I could chuck in some crabs…

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Like @Biotope Biologist, I too started with salamanders, newts, and some, though fewer, frogs.  I worked at an LFS in high school, but the fish never did much for me.  I was all about the salamaders and newts.  I did like big builds even then though!

Then I moved to Arizona for school.  There I came across pupfish, and for the first time I saw the appeal of fish.  These colorful little flecks of blue shimmering in green water in improbable puddles baking in the desert sun.  The whole scenario seemed unreal.  I quickly learned I could not have these as they are ESA listed.  But, I did manage to find pupfish species I could keep legally.  It went well and I had a thriving colony - when I had to move and enter a phase of life that required lots of moving.  I had to give my fish up. 

Cut to years later.  I'm settled and not going anywhere soon.  So, I want to get back to salamanders and newts.  I find that changes to the Lacy Act mean I can no longer keep them (there is a theme here where I don't like breaking the law whether I agree with the implications or not - the conservation spirit of the law I appreciate so it keeps me in line 😃).  What to do?

I thought back to those pupfish and the underwater world I created for them.  So, I did a bit of research and started with a few N-class Endler's.  Haven't looked back since.

[mynameisnobody]

My mother bought me my first aquarium when I was about 10 years old. It was a 15 gallon tall octagon tank. I remember it housed 1 bala shark, 1 clown loach, 1 angelfish, and a goldfish. Looking back now, the pet store had absolutely no idea how to think about keeping customers long term. Needless to say, they went out of business. I got a 75 gallon saltwater reef tank at about 20 years old. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t fully satisfy what I was “seeking.” I sold that setup a couple of years later. It wasn’t until 35 that I discovered the Coop. This sparked my interest and even without an aquarium, what I was “seeking” was in Cory’s videos. The man knew what he was doing and it was blatantly obvious. Especially when compared to others on YouTube. A month after binging every video the coop had at the time, I purchased a 55 gallon and have been in the hobby ever since. A million thank you’s to the coop. 

[sudofish]

I always liked other people's aquariums. I just never got around to setting up my own. A relative got a couple tanks and I loved the mystery snails she has, they were so cool looking. So I started researching a ton. I binged youtube for a couple months before getting my first tank. That way I knew what I needed to do from the get go. I already had a list of online stores I was going to use and had my preferred fish picked out etc. That made setting everything up a breeze.

[Nordlys Fish Room]

My late Grandfather had a camp on the Kenai river since before it was popular. He would save the previous year's roe as bait for the current salmon season. When my brother and I were preschoolers and way to small to do actual fishing, my grandfather keep us out of the way and out of trouble by tying a chunk of that roe to a bit of fishing line. We would play on the bank and feed the baby salmonoids and other tiny fish with those bait chunks. I still have vivid memories of interacting with all those baby fish and it created a lifelong love for fish in general.
 

So naturally, aquariums are a logical conclusion for me. And even now I take my kids to the tiny stream in our backyard and we feed the baby grayling sometimes (after feeding the fish inside the house of course). 

[Streetwise]

As a kid, I threw a ping pong ball into a goldfish bowl at the Champlain Valley Fair. I also grew up around woods and water, and always felt a connection to nature.

I did freshwater with plastic plants as a youth, marine in college and again as an adult, and now organic soil aquariums.

[Odd Duck]

A childhood friend had a tank and my parents knew I liked it.  So they bought me a well used, leaky old metal frame, slate bottomed, asphaltum sealed tank that if I remember right was probably a 20 gallon high.  This was back in 1975.  It came with old, brittle HOB filters that didn’t even have all the parts but there were plenty of MTS’s in the gravel.

I cleaned and resealed the tank, and got it running.  I probably started adding fish in just a few days since that’s what the books said to do.

I’ve kept freshwater, mostly smalls, kept saltwater with my first reef tank back in 1983.  Raised a clutch of Bettas just to see if I could (had grand plans to raise super fancies, but life changed and shut that down).  

I got away from fishkeeping for about 10 years and then got back in about 1.5 years ago, now, after rescuing a pair of adult Jack Dempsey fish and their 2 common pleco tank mates in a 55 gallon with a rigged HOB filter.

I’ve probably made about every mistake you can make over the years and I’m still learning, and relearning, plenty.  I’m back to significant multi-tank syndrome (again) with ideas to raise some pea puffers (sort of working, just not exactly how I planned), Neos, and laser cories.  Oh, and plants.  And snails.  And live food.  Still can’t manage green water intentionally.  😆🤷🏻‍♀️ Not even with mud bottom starter.

[BenA]

Haven't got a clue but now I am up to my neck in it. Have 4 tanks and making space for another 2 because "Those fish can't be together with these fish" and i am even not a year in the game.

God please help me. 😟

[BenA]

@Streetwise that's not funny! I need help. Do you know a shrink? 😅

[Streetwise]

If you want a shrink, pico tanks are smaller. 

[Atitagain]

On 9/3/2021 at 12:50 AM, Odd Duck said:

A childhood friend had a tank and my parents knew I liked it.  So they bought me a well used, leaky old metal frame, slate bottomed, asphaltum sealed tank that if I remember right was probably a 20 gallon high.  This was back in 1975.  It came with old, brittle HOB filters that didn’t even have all the parts but there were plenty of MTS’s in the gravel.

I cleaned and resealed the tank, and got it running.  I probably started adding fish in just a few days since that’s what the books said to do.

I’ve kept freshwater, mostly smalls, kept saltwater with my first reef tank back in 1983.  Raised a clutch of Bettas just to see if I could (had grand plans to raise super fancies, but life changed and shut that down).  

I got away from fishkeeping for about 10 years and then got back in about 1.5 years ago, now, after rescuing a pair of adult Jack Dempsey fish and their 2 common pleco tank mates in a 55 gallon with a rigged HOB filter.

I’ve probably made about every mistake you can make over the years and I’m still learning, and relearning, plenty.  I’m back to significant multi-tank syndrome (again) with ideas to raise some pea puffers (sort of working, just not exactly how I planned), Neos, and laser cories.  Oh, and plants.  And snails.  And live food.  Still can’t manage green water intentionally.  😆🤷🏻‍♀️ Not even with mud bottom starter.

If they had given you a operating tank with no work needed, would the hobby turned out different for you?

[Atitagain]

On 9/3/2021 at 6:15 PM, BenA said:

Haven't got a clue but now I am up to my neck in it. Have 4 tanks and making space for another 2 because "Those fish can't be together with these fish" and i am even not a year in the game.

God please help me. 😟

MTS anonymous meeting are on Thursday. 

[BenA]

On 9/3/2021 at 11:54 PM, Streetwise said:

If you want a shrink, pico tanks are smaller. 

Sorry, I do Marklin.

[Streetwise]

@Atitagain, I had something growing up that I didn’t appreciate until well into adulthood: excellent water. My folks had to drill a 400 foot deep well through limestone when they built their house in the mid 1970s. 

I was able to get away with 100% water changes when I didn’t know any better. The neighbors who built about ten years later, drilled a well and ended up with sulfur water.

My apartment and tanks are in a different town.

Recently, while treating my Betta, I did a test of my village water, and the Co-Op chlorine results were undetectable. I stopped using water conditioner over a year ago, when I learned that our water district does not use chloramine.

I don’t even have to off-gas my water now. I feel very lucky!

[Patrick_G]

@Streetwise my water doesn’t register chlorine on any of the tests, but I called my tiny water company (literally two employees and) and he confirmed they add chlorine. I’m. Conflicted because I don’t want to hurt the fish but it would be so easy to top off and water change with tap. 

[Streetwise]

I had to give my ailing Betta new water, so that was my test. I don’t want to speak for anyone else’s water.

[Dwayne Brown]

@Patrick_G I have had the same thing happen with my water. It is so weird because I know the company adds water but it is such a small amount on the test strips. 

[Odd Duck]

On 9/3/2021 at 6:24 PM, Atitagain said:

If they had given you a operating tank with no work needed, would the hobby turned out different for you?

I don’t know, never thought about it like that.  Good question!  I’ve always been a tinkerer, and I suspect it probably enhanced that because I had to figure out how to make it work with 2 tiny HOB’s where neither one worked very well.  I sure didn’t have much money to spend on my new hobby and my allowance, babysitting money, or earning whatever extra money I could by doing extra household chores was it (I always picked gardening stuff, shocker!).

I tried harvesting Daphnia and Vallisneria from local ponds.  Couldn’t keep the Daphnia alive long enough to accomplish much, got pond snails from the Val despite meticulously cleaning the leaves of egg clusters and doing a quarantine in a bucket.  They didn’t even grow worth a darn because I only had incandescent lights and no sunlight could reach the tank except for about 10-15 minutes a day during the winter when the sun was low.

So I guess having what success I did have under those circumstances has probably made me a better, or at least more resourceful, fishkeeper.  Although I probably have more algae issues now with stronger lights since I can’t seem to limit the food I pour into the tank (not really pouring, don’t worry 😆).

I do still like tinkering and have made many simple devices from plastic items that would have gone in the trash, whether it was just a guard to help make rabbit dentals safer, or using a syringe case to help keep the cord from the cautery unit from getting tangled but still get appropriately autoclaved (a rotary grinder is my friend!).

We also had a pretty kickin reef tank with an elevated refugium and a continuous drip kalkwasser set up made from a 5 gallon jug and an IV drip system.  Nobody had automatic anything back then unless it was a commercial aquarium.  Everything went from the tank through the wall into a closet and even the sump was in the closet along with the protein skimmer.  The local fish store used to give us dying corals or sell them at less than cost and we would get them back to health about 90% of the time.  When they got too big for our tank we would sell them back to them.  I can’t say that it was profitable but we didn’t spend any extra on them, we just worked hard on the tank.

In some ways I feel like I’ve taken some giant steps back because I’m struggling so much with algae in certain tanks.  I guess I’m still not used to having lights that can actually grow plants, lol!  I probably need to turn my lights down more.

Overall, it’s MUCH easier to keep planted tanks, to get plants, to get fish, to get information.  I’m such a nerd I spend hours or even days reading on any given topic.  It may not even apply to what I’m doing directly, but you never know when it might.  I haven’t kept angels in DECADES but I’m planning and already accumulating plants and driftwood for my first time seriously keeping angels, vs “I had a couple angelfish once”.

It’s a very different world now in so many ways it’s hard to even explain.  I still have that leaning towards tinkering and making it work on a budget even though I could spend more than I do.  Somehow, to me, that’s part of what keeping fish is about, making it work.  So I guess you can skip from the first paragraph to the last and still get the real answer.  Yes, it probably did shape my life and fishkeeping style in many ways.

[Patrick_G]

On 9/3/2021 at 5:19 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

@Patrick_G I have had the same thing happen with my water. It is so weird because I know the company adds water but it is such a small amount on the test strips. 

Do you still add decolonization? Is there any acceptable amount of chlorine? 

[Streetwise]

I think my district relies on biological and mechanical filtration, and uses just a tiny amount of chlorine. The village just rebuilt the water and sewer networks, and my apartment is less than a mile from our treatment system.